Your Money: Jan. 25, 1999

Hear an Ad, Then Call Free

If long-distance rates still aren't cheap enough for you, listen up--to the advertisement playing on the telephone. Last week BroadPoint Communications introduced a service that gives consumers as much as two minutes of free long distance for every 10-to-15-sec. targeted ad they hear. Already 40,000 callers have surfed to www.broadpoint.com to fill out a detailed questionnaire and obtain a PIN for the 800 service, known as FreeWay. Of course, with long-distance rates already as low as 10[cents] to 15[cents] a minute, listening to yet another Blockbuster or T.G.I. Friday's pitch may seem too high a price.

Home-Equity Loans Online

Now that you've racked up debt shopping online, you can use the Net to pay them off. Bank One last week rolled out a Web service that lets users apply for a home-equity loan and get an answer in a minute. Such loans can be a cheap way to consolidate credit-card debt, and interest payments are usually tax deductible.

Pricier Pills, Easy Appeals

Some good and bad news on managed care: Aetna U.S. Healthcare said last week that it would allow its customers to appeal coverage denials to an external review board. Other HMOs, like United Healthcare, are expected to follow suit. But many HMOs are raising average co-payments for prescriptions $5 to $15. Tip: stick with generic drugs.

--By Daniel Eisenberg and Aixa M. Pascual